The city-state of Singapore just launched its first mass-scale electric carsharing program — a service intended to comprise a fleet of around 1,000 cars and 2,000 charging points by 2020.

The service is being run for at least the next decade by France’s BlueSG (a unit of the Bollore Group) and will — presuming that current plans are achieved — represent the second-largest electric carsharing program in the world once fully rolled out.

Owing to the high cost of owning a car in Singapore, and more importantly the extreme traffic congestion and growing air pollution problem, the government is pushing to provide the new carsharing service as an outright alternative to personal car ownership.

People can sign up for BlueSG via “a premium yearly membership plan or a weekly membership plan via the BlueSG mobile app or www.bluesg.com.sg, where car rentals will be charged based on duration instead of distance,” BlueSG noted in the press release about the new service. Pricing is S$0.33 ($0.24) per minute if you have an annual subscription or S$0.50 ($0.37) per minute otherwise.

“The BlueSG mobile app (BlueSG) can be downloaded on the App Store and Google Play, and will enable users to book a Bluecar and reserve a parking lot in advance. If users have queries while driving, they can easily connect to the BlueSG Customer Relations Centre directly from the Bluecar and speak to a customer service representative. The Bluecar is also equipped to provide users with 24/7 assistance through an on-board computer that displays information and alert messages. In addition, a user’s personal settings such as favorite addresses and radio stations will also be uploaded in each Bluecar.”

The current fleet doesn’t have anywhere close to 1,000 cars and 2,000 charging points. It has launched with 80 Bluecars and 32 BlueSG charging stations, with an aim of 110 Bluecars, 42 BlueSG stations, and 165 charging points (more than 3 per station) by the end of 2017.

Bollore Group is behind the largest electric carsharing program in the world — Autolib. It intends to make this new program #2. It also has programs in Indianapolis (BlueIndy); Los Angeles (BlueCalifornia); Torino, Italy; Lyon, France; and Bordeaux, France.

Here’s more on the new Singapore program: “We are also committed to make Singapore the second largest electric vehicle car-sharing service worldwide after Paris. The Bluecar is fully electric and does not emit any odour or noise, thereby significantly reducing carbon footprint. As the BlueSG programme is a strategic development for the Bolloré Group, we look forward to working in tandem with EDB and LTA to achieve urban mobility and a sustainable transport system in Singapore. We are extremely encouraged by the interest demonstrated by Singapore residents thus far, as we already have about 2,000 members who have registered to the BlueSG service before the launch,” said Marie Bolloré, Managing Director, Blue Solutions.

In addition to the electric carsharing, the company plans to roll out other modes of green transport, such as the “Bluetram.”

The initial launch of the service in Singapore consists of 80 electric cars and 32 charging stations. As of the launch on Tuesday (December 12th) more than 2,000 had signed up as users.

About the Author

James Ayre James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

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